


Hard to Love

by kishidanchougoroshi



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M, Office, Online Dating, Romance, Sugar Daddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 11:48:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16062491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishidanchougoroshi/pseuds/kishidanchougoroshi
Summary: Nino wasn't a fan of online dating site, but he accidentally found one. A persistence guy named Reiji kept on appearing on his computer screen and he finally gave himself a chance to engage with the man. However, Reiji was coincidentally his own client, an illustrator named Ohno Satoshi.





	Hard to Love

Nino narrowed his eyes as he browsed endlessly through the latest online games website. He had been doing it for hours, his eyes hurt and were teary, but that didn’t stop him. He had opened countless links. A few of them were ads from the main homepage. They offered various products from the latest shoe model to porn chat links. As he was browsing for more websites, his left hand suddenly clicked the mouse button impatiently as he saw a potential webpage. When the new tab opened, Nino realized it wasn’t the link he had intended to visit; it showed him a virtual room with an avatar. Something popped up on the screen a few seconds later.

_Confirm that you’re 18 years or older_

Nino edgily clicked it; there were many games, which required the players to confirm their age due to their adult content or the gruesome gory scenes, which weren’t suitable for children. Another command appeared on the screen.

_Please select your avatar_

Nino randomly chose the avatar with a green and yellow Aloha T-shirt and named him Kagura. He then clicked ‘play’ but instead of the usual battle, the screen only showed him the room with another avatar in it. Nino read the katakana character, which appeared on top of the avatar’s head.

_Reiji_

“Welcome, Kagura-san,” the avatar greeted him while gesturing him to sit down. “Are you here to look for a partner?” it continued.

Confused, Nino quickly typed his reply, ‘ _I’m here to play a game.’_

_‘I love games too, but this site is not a gaming website.’_

Nino pursed his lips. This Reiji guy had to be on the wrong site himself.

‘ _I think I entered the wrong site,’_ Nino typed.

‘ _It’s the right site if you need a friend,’_ Reiji replied almost immediately and now was still typing. ‘ _I provide the best service, Kagura-san_ _.’_

Nino needed a few seconds to reply. ‘ _Is this some kind of sex chat?’_

_‘If you want it to be that way, I’ll be available for that.’_ Reiji’s reply was bizarre.

_‘Are you a real person or a machine?’_ Nino asked.

_‘I’m real, Kagura-san, as real as you.’_

‘ _Sorry, Reiji-san, I’m looking for the newest online game, I’m not interested in having a chat with you. Goodbye,’_ Nino closed the webpage after he had clicked the send button.  

Nino turned his computer off and yawned tiredly. It was past midnight and he had forgotten that he would attend a meeting with Jun the next day. Jun would scold him, as always when Nino appeared at the office with bloodshot eyes and a zombie-look.

He headed to bed and fell into a dreamless sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

***

Jun looked at Nino through his thick glasses as they sat opposite each other in the meeting room. Nino was , he woke up late, picked the ugly tie with fat tulip pattern and he hadn’t had breakfast yet. On top of that he couldn’t do anything to make his hair look presentable. Jun seemed to be holding back from commenting, but Nino didn’t need words to know that Jun was mad – his eyes spoke for him.

“Our client will be here in a moment,” Jun mumbled, writing something down in his planner.

“Sakurai Sho,” Nino read the client’s name. He took a look at the photo in the portfolio, Sho’s appearance was nearly like a politician's. He wore a suit and a tie, which looked expensive; his smile showed that he was a capable businessman – no wonder Jun wore his best outfit that day. Jun rarely showed nervousness, but this morning he was anxious. He checked his reflection on his smartphone screen to make sure that his hair was still perfect – over and over again.

“He’s the representative of the Gifu Prefecture administration for their next tourism promotion,” Jun said, finally putting his phone away. “We'll only discuss our basic plan, we haven’t made any decisions about the design and so forth.”

Nino had heard it the day before, but it was better to keep Jun in a good mood by not interrupting him. He nodded and pretended writing down everything.

Their company created brands which covered broad areas. Jun was the head of government-related advertisement, including the design for Japan's national branding as well as provincial tourism promotion. This month they would be working on a quite huge project for the newly developed tourism in Gifu Prefecture. It meant more extra hours, more boring meetings and more badass-Jun.

Sakurai Sho came five minutes later; an office lady took him to the meeting room and Jun stood up immediately upon seeing him. Sakurai looked exactly like the photo on portfolio; he shook Jun's and Nino’s hand with a firm grip, a professional smile decorated his lips.

“Please, take a seat,” Jun gestured to their client.

“Thank you,” Sakurai replied.

“We’re so happy to have you here,” Jun opened the meeting with his usual chit-chat. His eyes seemed to devour Sakurai and Nino couldn’t blame him. This Sakurai was good-looking and he gave a very nice first impression, somehow, Nino regretted that he was wearing the wrong tie this time.

They discussed the project for almost an hour. Sakurai would leave the choice of capable illustrators to their company and expected them to finish the grand design within two months. They ended the meeting and shook hands once again. Jun accompanied Sakurai to the elevator, meanwhile Nino cleaned the desk. He was inserting the last paper into the clear file folder when Jun entered the meeting room. He seemed to be in a better mood compared to an hour ago.

“Nino, you will find an illustrator this time,” Jun said, loosening his tie and taking a deep breath.

“We have Okada Junichi under contract,” Nino replied.

“No,” Jun shook his head. “His design is too ordinary, we need something unique and out of the box.”

Nino rolled his eyes, “Don’t you think my work is already too much? ?”

Jun gave him a critical look, “Find the illustrator.”

“Alright, alright,” Nino gave up and left the meeting room, walking towards his cubicle.

He kept the documents inside his drawers and began typing the report for Jun. It was still 11 in the morning, but Nino already had a headache. Finding an illustrator wasn’t that difficult, but convincing Jun to hire them was the bigger problem.

Nino was the last to leave the office that night. He ate cup noodles as an emergency dinner and drank a cup of black coffee to clear his head. Personally, Jun was a good man, but not in terms of professionalism. Nino wondered whether Jun suffered from the virus, which was more dangerous than the workaholic syndrome. Nino loved his job, but he didn’t want to die from _karoushi_ either.

It was close to midnight when Nino had finally finished bathing. He took a can of beer from the fridge and approached his desk. He turned on his laptop and browsed the information about a newly released online game, but something bothered him. The false game site from the other night kept on popping up on Nino’s computer, even though he had clearly logged out. The site was probably a virus transmitter, but it seemed not really likely since Nino had installed an anti-virus system he even paid for. . He clicked the pop-up bubble and saw the _Reiji_ avatar again _._

_‘Are you there, Mr. Kagura?’_ Reiji typed.  

_‘What do you want?’_ Nino replied.

_‘Company.’_ Reiji’s reply came almost immediately.

_‘There are 100 million people in Japan, you can ask one of them. I’m too busy right now.’_

_‘It has to be you.’_ Reiji’s reply popped up with a cute emoji.

Nino ran his fingers through his hair. This Reiji person, whoever he was, was stubborn and Nino had a hunch that this person would keep on bothering him as long as he declined.

_‘Alright, Mr. Reiji, I’ll keep you company. Happy now?’_ Nino typed impatiently.

Reiji didn’t respond immediately, maybe he didn’t think that Nino would give in that easily. Nino was almost turning his computer off when a reply appeared on the screen.

_‘Let’s meet up this weekend!’_

What a cheap guy, Nino thought. He decided not to write anything back and headed to his bed instead. Honestly, he was curious about this persisting guy, but he was not a fan of blind dates or something alike. Besides, this Reiji guy didn't seem like a bad person. Well, he couldn’t really tell what he was like in real life from their chat, but this online guy appeared to be all right. Nino finally got up and typed a reply.

_‘Not this weekend, give me some time.’_

The man didn’t reply for several minutes before sending a heart emoji. Nino smiled amused, it seemed that this Reiji loved to flirt and he happened to like it. He finally turned off his computer and decided to sleep. He hadn’t found a suitable illustrator for their project since Jun had turned down all of his candidates this afternoon; they still had two weeks left before having another meeting with Sakurai, but two weeks seemed to be too short for Matsumoto Jun. He kept on telling Nino and the other staff that their time was limited and they needed to work faster and more efficiently.

***

He found Jun in his office room the next day, frowning at the pile of paperwork before him as if it also made mistakes. Nino knocked at the door to announce his presence; Jun glanced only briefly at him and gestured him to enter.

“Any good news?” Jun asked.

“These are the new candidates,” Nino handed the printout to Jun. “I’ve searched them online and I’ve called their offices. Basically, they’re good, but I don’t know whether they'll live up to your standards.”

Jun scanned the illustrators’ profiles one by one. Then he stopped for a while, scanning one in particular and took a look at his previous works.

“This person seems good,” Jun handed the paper back to Nino. “But he’s a well-known illustrator who probably has no time for government stuff. Your duty is to convince him to work with us.”  

“Sounds pretty fun,” Nino replied with sarcasm.

Nino and Jun had been working together for long enough and even though Jun was technically his boss, Nino could say whatever was on his mind as long as they were alone.

Jun took off his glasses and massaged the line between his brows. He heaved deeply and looked at Nino. “I know it’s frustrating, but Sakurai-san is a demanding person. He has declined a few concepts from companies he previously planned to work with. I've rarely seen a person as dedicated as him working for the government, so let’s show him our best.”

Nino nodded, “Sure, I’ll show you that I’m the most capable underling of all times. I deserve a month's supply of beer from you as soon as we finish this project.”

Jun snorted; he told Nino that he would be out for a meeting and requested the progress of his illustrator hunting by the time Jun finished. The man took the documents from his desk, gave Nino a friendly pat on his shoulder and disappeared through the doors. Some female staffs whispered behind their hands as Jun walked passed them and Nino knew what they were talking about. Matsumoto Jun was the hottest head of section in the entire office. He was still young, stylish, kind-hearted (at least to the people who didn’t report to him) and had an enchanting smile, which could melt everyone’s heart. Nino was already fed-up with how the they tried to gain Jun’s attention by using him to deliver a hand-made chocolate or a lunch box.

“Nino, do you know when he will be back in the office?” one of them asked him.

“I have no idea,” Nino randomly answered. He returned to his cubicle and read the portfolioof the illustrator whom Jun had chosen and made a phone call to his office.

“Ame no Oto office, good morning, my name is Aiba Masaki, how may I help you?”

Nino heard a cheerful tone from Ame no Oto office right after the phone line was connected.

“Good morning, this is Ninomiya Kazunari of Sunrise Company, we would like to offer a project to Ohno Satoshi-san.”

Nino heard something like a cup hit the surface of a table. Perhaps this Aiba Masaki was receiving the call while having a cup of coffee.

“That sounds great, may I know what kind of project you want to offer?”

“It’s government-related. We’re looking for an illustrator who can create something unique and out of the box,” Nino said, repeating Jun’s words. He had no idea what ‘out of the box’ meant. He didn’t understand art that much, and to him, the illustration of the tourism promotion project wasn’t a big deal, particularly as it was government stuff. Nobody would take it seriously.

“Ohno-san likes something out of the box,” Aiba said. Nino could _see_ that the man was smiling by the way he spoke. “You can come to our office and talk to him in person. How about… next Friday morning? At 10?”

Nino clicked his digital calendar; he had no appointment on said date. “Perfect, I’ll be at your office on Friday morning.”

“Don’t have breakfast,” Aiba said.

“Pardon me?” Nino raised his brow.

“Ohno-san loves breakfast meetings. He’ll force you to eat with him, so to avoid any misunderstanding, you’d better come with an empty stomach,” Aiba explained with enthusiasm. “First impressions are important, don’t you agree?”

“You’re right,” Nino answered, remembering how Sakurai Sho had succeeded in making a perfect first impression on Jun. “I’m looking forward to meeting you and Ohno-san on Friday morning,” Nino said. This was the first time he had a casual conversation during a business phone call.

“Me too, have a nice day, Ninomiya-san.”

Nino ended the call and took a note of the upcoming meeting. He googled Ohno Satoshi and his previous works. He had created many illustrations for different clients, including the cover for a novel, commercials, and even the design on subway trains as well as bullet trains in order to promote Tokyo’s tourism.

Ohno was only three years older than Nino, his smile on his latest photographs somehow reflected that he was an easy-going person – Nino hoped he was right since he couldn’t afford to face someone with the same character as Jun.

Jun returned an hour later; he summoned Nino immediately as he arrived. Nino followed the man into his office room and sat down across from Jun.

“Have you already contacted the illustrator?” Jun asked, taking off his glasses.

“I have, I’ll meet him on Friday,” Nino answered.

“Good,” Jun slid out his planner and wrote something. “We’ll take a business trip to Gifu once you convinced the illustrator. Sakurai-san called me just now, the trip is needed to give us the real picture.”

“Okay,” Nino replied while writing down what Jun said. “When will it be?”

“As soon as we agree on a date. I’ve heard of this Ohno Satoshi before, he’s a busy man, it will be hard to match his agenda.”

“We can use someone else if the time limit concerns you,” Nino suggested.

“No,” Jun said. “I’ve reported Ohno’s name to the management and they are happy about our choice. We can’t just replace him.”

Nino sighed; Jun shouldn’t have reported anything when they hadn’t yet met and made a deal with this Ohno Satoshi. What if he declined the project on Friday?

“Just do your best on Friday, Nino,” Jun said while putting on his glasses again.

Nino left Jun’s office and looked at the outside scenery. The blue sky of early summer seemed too tempting, but it appeared to him that he couldn’t go outside to celebrate it.

***

Ame no Oto office was located in Shinjuku, on the seventh floor of one of Tokyo’s many skyscrapers. Nino obeyed Aiba’s advice to not have breakfast that morning. He was welcomed by Aiba Masaki himself whose appearance somehow fit Nino’s imagination. He was tall and slim; he wore a fashionable outfit – a pair of new jeans and a white shirt. His hair was dyed in a soft brown color, he let the bangs fall down naturally onto his forehead. This man’s style was even better than Jun’s, Nino thought, amused.

“Welcome to our office, Ninomiya-san,” he shook Nino’s hand enthusiastically with a broad smile on his lips. If Sakurai Sho’s smile was professional and convincing, this Aiba Masaki’s was friendly and relaxing. “Ohno-san is on the phone right now, please wait a moment,” Aiba said, guiding Nino to a comfortable sofa at the corner.

“I’ll make you a cup of coffee, do you prefer black or with milk?” Aiba asked.

“With milk, please. Thank you,” Nino said, taking a seat on the couch while looking around the office. It was cozy and relaxing. There was no sound of fax or photocopy machines, instead, soft jazz music was playing in the background. Nino wished his office could be this cozy, perhaps Jun would be way calmer if they could work in this kind of environment.

Aiba appeared from the kitchen a moment later with two cups of coffee on a tray. He put one in front of Nino and the other one on the other side of the table.

“Your tie is cute,” Aiba commented.

“Thanks,” Nino said. He was wearing a Mickey Mouse pattern, a tie he got as a souvenir from one of his nephews. Nobody would have thought it was cute. Jun had threatened that he would apply strict rules on how to dress if Nino kept on wearing weird ties to work, but Nino didn’t care. He hated buyingties and depended on gifts. His sister and nephews happily bought him ties as presents and that was enough.

The door at the left side of the waiting room opened, revealing a man who had to be Ohno. In contrast to Aiba’s tall and slim figure, this man was short, suntanned and skinny. He wore a blue checked shirt over a simple white T-shirt. His right hand was holding a box; his eyes found Nino and he smiled.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said with a rather unclear voice.

“I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, nice to meet you, Ohno-san,” Nino stood up, waiting for Ohno to free his hand off the box to be able to shake it.

“It’s a pleasure,” he shook Nino’s hand with a strong grip. “What is your favorite?” the man asked out of the blue.

“My favorite?” Nino looked at Aiba for help.

Ohno didn’t answer but took the box from the table instead and opened it. Various kinds of cakes were inside; chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, banana, and kiwi.

“Pick one,” Ohno said.

Nino, confused, took the chocolate cake and sat down to enjoy it. Aiba chose a vanilla-flavored one and left the both of them, walking towards the reception desk. Ohno took a seat across from Nino and picked a cake for himself.

“Life with more sweetness is necessary, don’t you agree?” Ohno asked, giving his cake a bite.

“You’re right,” Nino answered. He ate the chocolate cake which was amazingly delicious and sipped the coffee Aiba had prepared.

“So,” Ohno said as he finished his strawberry cake. “Can you briefly explain the project you offered me?”

“Sure,” Nino replied. He quickly finished the chocolate cake and fished the clear file folder out of his briefcase. He explained succinctly about their project to help the government of the Gifu prefecture in promoting their tourism. Ohno listened while looking at Nino’s tie; a slight smile decorated his lips.

“If you agree to work with us, we also plan to go for a business trip to Gifu within the next two weeks,” Nino said, handing Ohno the project proposal.

“I love business trips,” Ohno mumbled while taking another piece of cake from the box. Nino wondered how this man stayed in shape with this sugar consumption.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Nino replied.

“Give me two days to rearrange my schedule, Aiba-kun will give you a phone call,” Ohno said, flipping the proposal pages with his long fingers. They were also suntanned and they surprisingly attracted Nino’s attention. How could someone become this suntanned, he thought. He hated staying outside and would never let his skin get burnt by sunlight. Playing online games was way better than spending your whole summer in the heat.  

“That’s great. Does this mean you agree to our proposal?” Nino asked cheerfully, imagining how Jun would compliment him for finishing his task efficiently.

“You can assume that,” Ohno replied. “By the way, I like your tie.”

“Oh, thank you,” Nino answered awkwardly. Two compliments in a row from Aiba and Ohno somehow boosted his mood.

Their breakfast meeting lasted 40 minutes; Aiba joined them during the last 20 minutes and happily talked about Ohno’s previous works, including creating the illustration for the novels of well-known writers. Ohno, on the other hand looked rather bored. He didn’t talk much, only responded to Aiba when the guy confirmed something.

Nino left their office when it was close to lunch time, but Ohno’s chocolate cake had kept his stomach full. He decided to return to his office after sending a short text message to Jun, explaining that his meeting with Ohno had gone smoothly.

Jun wasn’t at the office when Nino returned. It gave Nino some spare time to go online and randomly open the site where he had found the weird Reiji guy. He wasn’t expecting to find the guy at that time of day, but Reiji was there, with his usual avatar.

_‘Hi,’_ Nino typed.

_‘It’s such a surprise to find you online at this hour. Did you miss me?’_ Reiji’s reply popped up on his screen.

_‘You’re expecting a ‘yes’ from me, so let me answer like that. Yes, I missed you.’_ Nino clicked the send button, amused by his own answer.

_‘That’s an upgrade, so when can we meet?’_

_‘How about next weekend?’_ Nino typed quickly.

_‘Perfect, do you have LINE to contact you or maybe something more convenient for you? Maybe you can send me a photo to make sure that I don’t bump into the wrong person.’_

Nino read Reiji’s reply and thought for a while. This was ridiculous; he had never been involved in any blind dates before. Above all, he was a 34-year-old man, it wasn’t the right time for him to look for a partner through a random website. But this Reiji had raised his curiosity; he had nothing to lose if he agreed to meet him. If he found that the guy wasn’t as attractive as his avatar, Nino just needed to cut any contact with him.

_‘I’ll send you my LINE ID prior to our meet-up,’_ Nino replied.

“What is this? Are you engaging in a sex site?”

Nino almost cursed when he heard Jun’s voice behind him. He hadn't realized the guy’s presence; he quickly closed the site and faced Jun who sat down on the empty chair beside him.

“It’s lunch time, you can continue whatever you’re doing,” Jun gave Nino an amusing smile, which was clearly meant to tease him.

“Ohno-san agreed to work with us,” Nino said before Jun could tease him any longer.

“That’s great news on a Friday,” Jun’s smile grew wider. “You can take your premium Friday and write the report from home. How does that sound?”

“I can’t,” Nino shook his head. “There are several reports that I need to finish before Monday comes. My boss is not the most pleasant guy in this world, you know.”

Jun chuckled, “Tell your boss to take a rest, then. Oh wait, it’s me,” he continued. He gave Nino a friendly pat on his shoulder and disappeared towards his office room.

Nino returned to his computer and started typing the report of his meeting with Ohno. He remembered the comfortable atmosphere of Ohno’s office and wished he could have the same thing here. He shook his head in agony when everyone came back from their lunch and started to make noise.

***

The following week passed smoothly. Aiba had given Nino a phone call, telling him that Ohno had agreed to sign the contract on the next Monday. Nino had finished preparing the contract draft and told Aiba that he and Jun would be at Ame no Oto office at 10 am on Monday.

The working part was done and now, Nino would do something for his meet-up with Reiji.

Nino had made a temporary LINE ID to communicate with the guy. He chose Café La Boheme in Shinjuku as their location to meet on Saturday at three in the afternoon. Nino had never experienced this kind of blind date before. It had been years since he had had a relationship with someone. He wasn’t excited about the meet-up; he just did it out of curiosity.

Saturday came and Nino found himself at one of the café’s tables, waiting for Reiji. He had arrived 20 minutes early and had chosen the table in the far corner to make it easier for Reiji to find him. He was wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of worn-out jeans. He just didn’t want to impress the guy and hoped that his appearance would keep the man from chatting with him anymore.

It was already five to three pm, but the mysterious guy hadn’t appeared yet. Nino watched the people from under his baseball cap, but none of them walked in his direction. He frowned, thinking that maybe Reiji played a prank on him by not appearing. He fished his phone from his jeans' pocket and was about to make a LINE call when someone was approaching his table.

“Kagura-kun?”

Nino slowly lifted his head to the owner of the voice and almost yelped as he saw Ohno. The man also wore a baseball cap and glasses. His face wasn’t perfectly shaved, but somehow it made Ohno manlier than he already was.

“Ohno-san?!” he looked around, trying to find a way out. “Why are you here?”

Ohno took a seat across from Nino and showed his phone screen which displayed Nino’s temporal LINE ID, “Is this you?”

The right answer would be ‘no’, but Nino couldn’t find the right excuse to deny that he was the guy who used ‘Kagura’ as his avatar name. He looked down, trying to make up some lies, but nothing came up.

_Damn._

“You should have told me that your real name is Ninomiya,” Ohno said calmly, not bothered by the fact that Nino was his client.

Nino grinned guiltily. He didn’t dare to look at Ohno’s face and busied himself by flipping through the menu. Ohno took off his cap and called for the waiter.

“What do you want to drink?” Ohno asked.

“A cup of iced café latte,” Nino answered, still looking down at the menu. He was embarrassed to no end and he just couldn’t figure a way out. It would be better to pretend that he had something to do and escape from the café, but he just couldn’t move from his seat.

“Kagura fits you well,” Ohno opened the conversation as the waiter who had taken their order left. “I was randomly searching for online friends when I found you.”

Nino finally lifted his head; but avoiding Ohno’s eyes on purpose. “Is that some kind of blind date website?”

Ohno chuckled and shook his head. “A friend of mine created that webpage for me.”

“Were you looking for a date of some kind?” Nino dared himself to ask. Ohno didn’t look like a ‘sugar-daddy-type’, but appearances could deceive sometimes.

“How about you?” he returned the question.

Nino didn’t know why he had agreed to meet with Reiji/Ohno in the first place; he told himself that it was because of his curiosity, nothing more.

“I don’t like the idea of blind dates,” Nino answered.

Ohno nodded. “But we’ve met before; it isn’t a blind date.”

“You’re my client, Ohno-san,” Nino said carefully. “As far as I know, dating a client is not the best way of doing business.”

Ohno’s lips curved into a smile. “I’m not asking you to date me,” he said. 

Nino was bewildered by Ohno’s answer, but he tried to make his expression as plain as he could. He didn’t expect a date either; he just wanted to test the water and try to find out whether he could engage in a relationship other than work.

“That’s nice,” Nino replied.

Both of them let the silence fall as they watched the busy street outside the glass window. Nino stole a glance at Ohno’s face; he really hadn't paid any attention to the man’s appearance when they had met at Ame no Oto office. Ohno rested his chin on his palm while looking outside; his pointed nose seemed to be longer from this angle.

“Would you give me your real LINE address?” Ohno asked, slowly turning his gaze towards Nino.

“Aiba-san has my name card. My phone number is printed on there,” Nino replied.

“Perfect,” Ohno said, smiling at Nino.

They didn’t talk that much for the rest of their meeting. Nino was still unsure whether he should contact Ohno again for private matters instead of work; he could hear Jun’s voice inside his head about professionalism. He left the café early after apologizing to Ohno. The illustrator nodded understandingly and wished him a good weekend.

Nino walked further from the café with mixed feelings. It had turned out worse than what he had anticipated. If the man hadn't been Ohno, he could have forgotten that they had met or clearly stated that he didn’t want another meeting. But it was Ohno, his important client that he needed to meet on Monday morning and with whom he would go on a business trip to Gifu within two weeks. On top of that, why did he find Ohno attractive? That man didn’t even shave properly, didn’t even dress up nicely, yet he still looked handsome.

Ohno didn’t contact him for the rest of the weekend which Nino was grateful for. He randomly checked the website where he had found Reiji for the first time and was relieved that the avatar was gone.

***

Monday morning came; Nino chose a tie with boring stripes instead of his Disney collection since he would go to meet Ohno with Jun. He didn’t want to worsen Jun’s mood first thing on Monday. Jun had informed him that Sakurai Sho would join the meeting as well; somehow Nino sensed that it had boosted Jun’s temper.

They gathered in the Ame no Oto waiting room; Sakurai was already there when Jun and Nino arrived. Ohno appeared ten minutes later with a big box of cake this time. He smiled broadly at all of them and told Aiba to pour five cups of tea. Nino busied himself with the contract documents as Ohno approached them. The illustrator shook Jun's and Sakurai’s hand and finally Nino’s. He avoided Ohno’s gaze on purpose, cursing silently as he felt his face redden. 

Jun was the one who did the talking which gave Nino the freedom to steal glances at Ohno. The illustrator was in _working mode._ He looked totally different to the man Nino had met on Saturday and somehow, it gave Nino goosebumps. When the serious part of the meeting was over, Ohno offered the cakes to all of them and the discussion shifted to a lighter topic, including the anime tourism of Gegege no Kitaro in Tottori.  

The meeting concluded near lunchtime. Jun and Sakurai were satisfied with the result; they had seen Ohno’s previous works and from the look on their faces, Nino could tell that they were happy with Ohno. The three of them had lunch together in a Yakiniku restaurant at Ginza. Nino enjoyed his lunch while listening to Jun and Sakurai; they seemed to like each other, they talked endlessly and Nino swore he had never seen Jun this happy on a Monday.

Nino’s phone vibrated; he fished it out from his suit pocket and checked the message. It was from Ohno. He made sure that the screen was hidden before reading it.

_‘You look cute today. I really want to meet you on Thursday night this week, just for a drink, if you don’t mind. It’s not a date, I promise.’_

Nino inserted the phone back into his pocket. He couldn’t reply now; was it okay to have a drink with your client? Of course, it was okay. They were having lunch with Sakurai – what was the difference if he agreed to have a drink with Ohno. But this was a working lunch, not some private meeting.

“Nino, I need the report of today’s meeting by tomorrow afternoon,” Jun said.

Nino answered confused and finished his food as fast as he could. They separated with Sakurai at the station; the man needed to go to Tokyo central government office for another meeting. Jun wished Sakurai good luck with the sweetest smile possible, a new side of him that Nino had never known existed.

It was 11 in the evening when Nino finally arrived at home. He lay down tiredly on his couch while once again reading Ohno’s message. The man had sent him a photo of the latest Tokyo Banana product; it made Nino smile – Ohno was sure a big fan of sweets. He typed a reply after having thought about it for the whole day.

_‘I’ll meet with you on Thursday night if it’s only for a drink, nothing more. I’ll be waiting for you at the West Exit of Shinjuku Station.’_

Ohno’s reply popped up a minute later. ‘ _What do you mean by ‘more?’’_

Nino sighed deeply; what kind of thing had he gotten himself into?

_‘Let’s say like kissing or having sex. You can do it even if you’re not dating.’_

He bit his lower lip as he clicked the send button.

_‘If you’re fine with it, we can proceed to the nearest hotel.’_

_NO,_ Nino typed furiously. _Don’t even think about it,_ he added.

***

The place where Nino and Ohno met was a bar, which was located near the Shinjuku Station. Nino arrived there early and had already drunk half of his beer when Ohno appeared. The man was wearing a suit; he loosened his tie while approaching Nino’s table.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Ohno said, sitting down on the sofa across from Nino.

“It’s okay,” Nino replied. He took a closer look at Ohno; the man had taken off his jacket, revealing the white shirt underneath it.

“How’s work?” Ohno asked, opening the conversation.

“Busy, but Jun seems in a better mood this week,” Nino said, recalling how Jun had been smiling for the past four days.

“Your head of section?” Ohno confirmed.

Nino nodded; he took another sip of his beer and called the waiter to order more to drink. Ohno also placed his order and looked at Nino with a wide smile on his lips. “I’m so glad that you agreed to meet here.”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m just here to have some liquor,” Nino mumbled an answer, but Ohno seemed not to hear him.

“Drink all you like, it’s on me,” Ohno said, rising from his seat and moving to the couch where Nino was sitting. His scent hit Nino’s nose; he smelled of expensive perfume. He gave the illustrator a questioning gaze which Ohno ignored.

“It’s not a date, remember?” Nino said.

“I just want to sit down near you,” Ohno answered, touching Nino’s upper arm lightly with the tip of his fingers.

It wasn’t the outcome Nino had wanted; he should have shifted away from Ohno. First, the man was his client, second, he seemed to be more zealousdespite his sleepy look, which was rather arousing, and third, Nino felt a weird sensation in his stomach as Ohno’s hand touched him. He hadn’t had sex for ages; his desire had faded, as he had gotten older. Now, the forgotten thrill had spread to his spine and nerves; all of a sudden, he wanted someone to touch him, to pleasure him.

“Nino-kun, that hurts,” Ohno said.

Nino was gripping Ohno’s fingers unconsciously as his imagination went wild. He should have done something to control his sudden urge to have sex – not now – he told himself.

“Sorry, Ohno-san,” Nino loosened his grip, but Ohno kept on clutching his hand. The man leaned closer, resting his chin on Nino’s shoulder.

“Come with me,” he whispered.

“I can’t, you’re my client,” Nino whispered back, trying to steady his trembling voice.

“Nobody needs to know,” his lips touched Nino’s earlobe which was enough to make him shiver.

Their seats were opposite of the main bar table; the light was dimmed; the music was loud enough, it was hard to observe what the other people were doing at their tables. Ohno pulled further as the waiter came back with their drinks. Nino sipped his beer immediately to calm his nerves down. If he wanted to decline Ohno’s invitation, this was the right time. However, half of him wanted to know what Ohno looked like without that white shirt. It was just out of curiosity, Nino reminded himself.

Ohno slid something from his pocket and put it into Nino’s palm. A key of a hotel room.

“Ohno-san, this is too far,” he mumbled.

“I leave it to you,” Ohno said, sipping the drink from his glass. “I won’t force you.”

“How many times have you done this?” Nino asked.

“Done what?”

“You know, calling someone to sleep with you,” Nino said in a low tone.

Ohno chuckled amusingly. “You don’t need to know that. We’re not dating, it’s not like I’m betraying you behind your back.”

Nino frowned, Ohno was right. He had no right to dig into Ohno’s personal life. He finished his drink in one gulp and made up his mid.

“Alright, show me what you’ve got,” Nino said. He hoped that he would forget everything tomorrow morning. He hoped that it would be the last time he did something this stupid.

The hotel was a five-starred luxury hotel in Roppongi. Ohno had booked it beforehand; whether it was because he was sure that Nino would say yes, or he just wanted to stay in a place other than his mansion, Nino didn't know.

Nino was nervous; hell, how could he stay calm if he was going to sleep with a man he had just met a week ago. On top of that, he was a client; on top of that, what they were doing tonight would lead them nowhere.

Nino unlocked the door and entered the suit room; he let Ohno embrace him from behind as the door closed behind them.

“You smell nice,” he said.

“T-thanks,” Nino murmured.

Ohno turned him around and placed his fingers below Nino’s chin. He leaned closer and kissed Nino’s lips; it was the time Nino got rid of any thoughts . He didn’t care anymore that Ohno was a client; he didn’t give a damn whether it was a one-night stand. Ohno’s lips were soft; his breath smelled of alcohol, and it was enough to make Nino drunk – more than all the liquor he had had tonight.

“Take a shower, be quick,” Ohno said.

Nino did as told; he had forgotten that tomorrow was still Friday – the consequences could wait, what mattered the most was Ohno and whatever he would do to Nino.

Ohno’s body was muscular, but he wasn’t bulky. His abs felt hard when Nino traced  them with his fingersHe let Nino do whatever he liked and kissed him everywhere until he couldn’t hold himself back any longer. The sex was great, Ohno knew how to make him beg for it and when Nino was about to come, he consciously called Ohno’s name between his breaths.

“Ohchan, just take me there.”

“I like that name, say it again,” Ohno lowered his face and kissed Nino’s exposed neck.

“Ohchan,” Nino said, while holding Ohno tightly as he came. He panted, as if finishing a sprint.

“I’m not done yet, Ninomiya,” Ohno smiled at him and kissed Nino’s lips while pumping him hard. Nino heard his own voice, groaning in pleasure as Ohno’s dick pounded deeper into him.

Ohno came inside him; he made a beautiful whimper as he collapsed on top of Nino. It was probably the best sex Nino had gotten in the last few years. He ran his fingers through Ohno’s hair and once again traced Ohno’s muscular arms. “Did you do this to the others as well?” Nino asked.

“If that concerns you, I’ll stop. I’ll make you my priority,” Ohno replied, letting Nino rest his head on the crook of his arms as he rolled over. “On one condition,” the man said.

“What is it?” Nino’s eyes were half-open when he spoke.

“Be my prisoner,” Ohno whispered into his ears.

“As you wish, Ohchan.”

***  

It was too late to take everything back; even though Nino kept on telling himself that what he had with Ohno was illicit, he couldn’t pretend that he hated it. On the contrary, he was looking forward to having the same great night with Ohno again. However, the workload and Jun being a badass the following week had drawn Nino further away from his thoughts about the wild-night-Ohno. Instead, he had to deal professionally with the illustrator, including arranging the trip to Gifu.

Nino had never felt weirder; he had sex with Ohno, but at the same time they worked efficiently, without the unnecessary awkwardness. Perhaps, it was because of Ohno’s relaxed attitude which helped Nino to forget for a while that they engaged in out-of-professionalism stuff. On top of that, Ohno wasn’t a crush or something alike, so it reduced the complicated things between them.

Aiba would join the business trip upon Ohno’s request, but at the expense of Ame no Oto office. They would depart on Monday evening from Tokyo Station. Nino had arranged everything according to Jun’s preferences; train’s ticket, hotel, restaurant where they would have working lunch and the perfect place to buy souvenirs. They also planned to visit Hida City, the location of Kimi no Na wa scene.

Their departing schedule matched Sakurai’s as well; Nino didn’t know whether the man had done it on purpose to please Jun or if it was a mere coincidence. It was too obvious that Jun and Sakurai liked each other, but maybe, they were like Nino, considering that dating a client wasn’t a good idea. In Nino’s case it was even worse. He couldn’t even find the right definitionfor his engagement with Ohno.

Nino sat down behind Jun who had managed to sit down next to Sho. Ohno and Aiba were three rows behind Nino. He hadn't wanted to create any wrong impressions; so, he had arranged that Aiba and Ohno would be sitting in the same row when he had reserved the tickets. Besides, Ohno gave no signal that he wanted to repeat what they had done in near future; thus, Nino didn’t want to look like a slut and was waiting for further development. 

They stayed at the Yunoshimikan Hotel; it was an old Japanese building with many trees around it. The receptionist welcomed them with the best smile on her lips. Ohno's, Nino's, and Aiba’s rooms were at the same corridor, meanwhile Jun's and Sho's atone floor above.

Nino dragged his luggage towards his room, which was located at the farthest end of the corridor. The wooden floor of the hotel made the sound of his suitcase even louder. He swiped the card over the sensor on the door and was about to enter when Ohno’s hand found his wrist.

“Ohno-san, how may I help you?” Nino asked, trying to sound polite.

“My room is only three doors away, feel free to visit,” he said, giving Nino a slight smile and leaving him with mixed feelings.

Nino was so tempted to visit Ohno’s room, but he refrained from doing so. He was here for work and it would be risky if Jun found out what he was up to. He finished some templates for the reports that night and drank a can of beer before going to bed. Ohno sent him a LINE message, asking whether he was still awake. Nino didn’t reply to it; he crawled onto his bed and fell asleep.

Their schedule for the next day was visiting the tourism agency office and having a meeting with the project leader – a man in his early 40s, Sakamoto Masayuki. Jun and Sakurai did all the talking; meanwhile Ohno did a short presentation of the illustration designs. Sakamoto was impressed and made positive comments about the designs; he and his team would decide which designs they would use within three days.

They left the office around 11.30 am and headed to the restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was located on the seashore with great view over the sea.  Jun chose the menu for them, meanwhile Nino was still busy sorting the documents on his laptop. He felt Ohno’s gaze but tried not to look at the man’s face. He was sitting right in front of Nino, separated by the narrow table between them.

Nino was glad that Aiba had come along since he talked almost all the time so there would be no odd silence between them. Since it was a working lunch, Nino didn’t really pay attention to what he ate. He busily exchanged notes with Sho and Aiba as well as explaining about tomorrow’s quick tour to Hida City. They had almost left the restaurant when he felt something wasn’t right. At first, he thought that he just got a light headache because of the summer heat, but then he felt cold sweat running down his spine and the sudden nausea.

“Nino, are you okay?” Jun asked with concern.

Nino tried to answer, but he threw up onto the wooden floor. “I forgot that I’m allergic to shellfish” he covered his mouth and tried to get up, but his head spun around like hell.

“Let’s go to the hospital,” Jun said, supporting him to prevent him from collapsing.

Nino shook his head, “We still have another meeting after this.”

“Are you nuts? We can just cancel it.”

“No, I don’t want to put such a burden on you, I’m fine, Jun.”

“Let me take care of him,” Ohno’s voice could be heard. “Aiba-kun can represent me at the meeting. Nino is right, we can’t just cancel the meeting. It’s unprofessional.”

Jun looked troubled and guilty, but he agreed to leave Nino in Ohno’s handsThe illustrator supported him together with Jun towards the exit and helped him to get into a taxi. Nino mumbled an apology to Jun who shook his head and told Nino not to blame himself.

“You should have told me that you’re allergic to shell,” Jun said as he helped Nino to fasten his seatbelt. “Ohno-san, please take care of him on my behalf.”

“I will, now let’s go,” Ohno said. The taxi driver took them to the nearest hospital which luckily wasn’t that far from the restaurant. Nino’s head was dizzy like hell and his body started to heat up. He let Ohno wipe the sweat off his face and heard the man mumbling that everything was going to be okay.

It had been ages since Nino had touched shellfish. Usually, he would have noticed it by its smell, but this afternoon, his concentration hadn't been on the food he was eating. He felt bad for Jun that he needed to attend the meeting without him. He also felt bad for Ohno that the man had to accompany him to the hospital.

Nino was brought to the emergency room to receive treatment from a doctor. The allergy wasn’t that bad, so he didn’t need to be hospitalized. The doctor gave him a prescription and sent him home. Nino was still limp so he leaned onto Ohno for support all the time. Ohno circled his right hand around Nino’s waist and guided him towards the exit.

“Sorry about this, Ohchan,” Nino mumbled.

“I’ve been waiting for you to call me by that name again,” Ohno said, turning his face towards Nino. They were so close to each other, Nino only needed to lean a few inches forward to touch Ohno’s nose, but it wasn’t the right time to do that.

“I can’t just call you ‘Ohchan’ in front of everyone,” Nino replied.

“So, what do you want me to call you when we’re alone? Kazunari?”

“Nino is fine,” Nino said, gripping Ohno’s shoulder tighter as they climbed down the stairs. “Why are you doing this?”

“Taking care of you?” Ohno confirmed.

Nino gave him a small nod.

“I don’t like attending meetings. They’re boring and make me sleepy all the time. That’s why I take Aiba-kun along,” Ohno answered.

“That’s it?” Nino said disappointed. “You took me to the hospital to avoid the meeting.”

Ohno smiled at Nino, “Because I want to be alone with you.”

“You can’t fuck me, though,” Nino said blatantly with a low voice, so only Ohno could hear him.

“Do you really think I'm such a pervert?” Ohno asked.

“I don’t know,” Nino shook his head. “What should I think about someone who had his friend make a website for him just to look for partners to sleep with.”

“If you think that way, then I won’t convince you to see me as a respectable man,” Ohno smiled at him. He wasn't particularly mad at Nino’s sarcastic words. Perhaps consuming too many sweets had turned him into a mellow person.

They went back to the hotel by taxi. Nino closed his eyes along the way; his head was still dizzy as hell. He lay his head down on Ohno’s lap and let the man brush his hair with his fingers.

“Ohchan, may I ask something?” Nino said with eyes still closed.

“What is it?”

“What did you mean by becoming your prisoner?”

Ohno didn’t answer immediately, he kept on brushing Nino’s hair and leaned his head closer to Nino’s ear, “Taking care of you, like this.”

“Is that some kind of emotional disorder? I don’t like taking care of people,” Nino mumbled.

“I don’t know,” Ohno answered.

“Do you have a permanent prisoner aside from me?”

“I have some,” Ohno answered honestly.

“Where are they now?”

“Some of them are in Tokyo.”

Nino opened his eyes and looked at Ohno’s serene face above him. “If I asked to become your exclusive prisoner, would you cut your ties with them?”

“A prisoner is not allowed to make a request,” Ohno smirked.

“I can offer something in return.”

Nino couldn’t believe what he was saying, but it felt good. He had never done this before; he had always been involved in complicated relationships, but Ohno was different. He didn’t promise the world to Nino or offer unconditional sacrifices – it meant no burden and there was no obligation to stay by each other’s side.

“Do that once you recover,” Ohno said, pinching the top of Nino’s nose.

***

Nino fell asleep immediately as his head touched the pillow. Ohno promised him that he would be there when Nino woke up. It was hours later when Nino opened his eyes and found Ohno sitting on the couch, a book on his lap.

“You’re still here,” Nino mumbled, glancing at the digital clock on the side table which showed 01.45 in the morning.

“Matsumoto-san and Sakurai-san came here around 9 o’clock, but we didn’t want to wake you up. He brought you some food,” Ohno answered, pointing at the box on the glass table across the bed.

“You should have woken me up,” Nino mumbled, slowly pushing himself off of the bed. His headache wasn’t as horrible as in the afternoon. “What are you reading?”

“The new edition of My Hero Academia,” Ohno grinned.

“I didn’t expect you to read such a genre,” Nino leaned onto the pillow and observed Ohno. “Thank you for staying awake for me.”

“You’re my prisoner, I have to make sure you don’t escape.”

Nino smiled at the joke. “You should get some sleep, we still have meetingstomorrow.”

“I will,” Ohno said, putting his manga aside and joining Nino on the bed.

“Here?” Nino confirmed.

“I won’t bite,” Ohno said playfully.

It didn’t take a long time for the man to fall asleep; leaving Nino with bewildered feelings. He closed his eyes again, hoping that he would get better as the morning came.

***

They would be heading back to Tokyo after the quick tour to Hida City. Nino had apologized profusely to Jun and Sakurai for causing such trouble. Both of them, however didn’t mind it and told him to rest assured that their business had gone as planned.

Jun and Nino headed to Tokyo prior to the other three. Sakurai still had another meeting with the local authorities, meanwhile Ohno and Aiba were heading to Osaka for another appointment. Both of them were having lunch on the bullet train when Jun asked about the thing he had with Ohno.

“Are you guys having an affair?” Jun asked in a light tone.

“No,” Nino answered. Was it too obvious? Of course, it was. Ohno had stayed by his side all the time; it was not normal, assuming that both of them were co-workers.

“How about you and Sakurai-san?” Nino asked in return. He would leave be whatever impression Jun had about him and Ohno.  

Jun looked at his tempura with a soft look, “He asked me out.”

“That’s nice,” Nino said, giving his friend a broad smile.

“But he is still my client, so I didn’t say yes,” Jun said, putting down his tempura again as if losing his appetite when remembering Sakurai.

“You should have said yes. I think he’s a nice man and I can tell how much you like him,” Nino chewed his food slowly. He wished the thing between him and Ohno was as simple as co-workerlove.  

An adorable blush appeared on Jun’s face, “Is it that obvious?”

“I have never seen you so anxious before a meeting. You’re the most confident person I’ve ever met. But you’re nervous every time Sakurai appears.”

Jun chuckled as he heard what Nino said. He finished his lunch and told Nino about the meeting he missed with the Gifu Tourism Executive Board. Jun sent the note via email and asked Nino to write their report based on it.

***

For the rest of the week, Nino focused on the Gifu project. He made many phone calls to Sakurai’s office, to Ohno’s office as well as the related authority in Gifu. He exchanged emails and notes with the other section in his office. The workload was too much, thus he had no time to reply to Ohno’s LINE message. Nino basically arrived home close to midnight and went for work early in the morning. His mobile phone was forgotten for days so Ohno eventually reached him via the office phone.

“Ninomiya here, how may I help you?” he greeted the caller in polite Japanese.

“Nino,” Ohno’s voice could be heard. “I sent you a bunch of messages.”

“Sorry, Ohno-san, I’m still busy with the upcoming project and have no time to look at your emails,” Nino spoke with the same polite tone, he didn’t want his colleagues to find out that he got a private call.

“I’ll be waiting in front of your office tonight,” Ohno said and before Nino could say something, the man had already cut the line.

Nino hurriedly wanted to check his phone, but before he could do that Jun called him from his office and told him to bring the mapping of the Gifu Tourism Project. The final preparation prevented Nino from using/looking at his phone and when he finished, the small hand of the clock pointed to 10 in the evening. He tiredly massaged his nose bridge and tried to reach Ohno via LINE call.

“I’m waiting,” Ohno said.

“You must be kidding me,” Nino mumbled into his phone. He hurriedly collected his stuff and inserted them into his briefcase. He held the phone between his head and shoulder and walked towards the elevator; what did Ohno want from him at this late hour? Nino wasn’t in the mood to have sex since he was too exhausted.

Ohno was sitting on one of the sidewalk benches while smoking; he turned towards Nino when he approached. The latter looked around, afraid that one of his colleagues was still there and would spread unnecessary gossip on the following day.

“What do you want?” Nino asked. He was very tired and had no energy left for a chit-chat.

“I missed you, you’ve been ignoring my messages for a week,” Ohno said, rising from the bench and giving Nino a weak smile.

“I’ve been busy,” Nino mumbled.

“It’s Friday night, you deserve a nice weekend.”

“Yeah, a weekend where I can sleep all day and night,” Nino answered, running his hair through his fingers. He had just realized that his body was stiff everywhere.

“Come,” Ohno grabbed his wrist and led him towards the sidewalk.

“Where to? You can’t just…”

Ohno didn’t listen to him. He stopped a cab and pushed Nino in. Nino gave up; it would be a waste if he argued with this man. He leaned into the seat and closed his eyes. Ohno gave the address to the driver; Nino didn’t know what place they would be heading to. A hotel? An apartment? He just didn’t want to give a damn. It was the third time Ohno took care of him and he kind of understood that all he needed was to go with the flow. He hadn't been that sober when he had told Ohno that he wanted to be his prisoner.

Nino didn’t even know what kind of prisoner Ohno wanted him to be?

He wasn’t Ohno’s pet. He wasn’t Ohno’s lover. He wasn’t Ohno’s sex friend. He was just a mere prisoner.

Was it a new term for someone who engaged in something like this? No, Nino concluded for himself. He had never heard of this term before. Perhaps it was just Ohno’s creation to have some fun. Let it be, he thought. He didn’t hate it though. It was a weird relationship, but it wasn’t bad.

Ohno brought him to an apartment, which apparently was his own place. He gave Nino a pair of fresh pajamas after he had finished taking a shower. He didn’t indicate that he wanted to have sex with Nino, considering how exhausted Nino was.

“You have a nice place,” Nino said, looking around, examining the interior of the room.

“Thanks,” Ohno replied, handing him a glass of wine. “I didn't poison it,” he added.

Nino chuckled lightly; he took the wine and drank it, letting the warmth of the alcohol spread to his nerves. Ohno looked at him with a slight smile on his lips.

“Let’s go to bed once we finish this,” Ohno said.

“Are we going to sleep together again?” Nino asked innocently.

“Only if you want it,” Ohno said diplomatically.

Nino rolled his eyes and drank all of the wine in his glass. He headed towards Ohno’s bedroom and flopped his head onto the fluffy pillow.

“Good night, Ohchan.”

“Good night, Nino,” Ohno replied while giving Nino’s head a soft pat.

***

Nino hadn't enjoyed morning sex before, but it was different when it was with Ohno. He was about to complain that he needed more sleep after a long Friday when Ohno started to make Nino feel so good. They ended up naked in no time and Nino could hear his own voice encouraging Ohno to do more.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Ohno said as they were holding each other after the bliss.

“You talk about food after sex, I can’t believe it,” Nino replied, resting his head on the crook of Ohno’s arm.

“Do you want to talk about what happened to Trump and Kim Jong Un after their meeting in Singapore?” Ohno said with the plainest expression someone could make.

“Alright, I want another hard-core sex, then,” Nino said.

“That’s not a breakfast, Kazunari.”

Nino didn’t answer; he lowered his head towards Ohno’s abdomen and started giving Ohno a blowjob. It was the perfect start of a Saturday morning; it would be good enough for them to just stay in bed all day long.

***

Nino stayed at Ohno’s apartment the whole weekend. He read Ohno’s books, watched random TV shows, played games and listened to music. The sun shone above Tokyo so brightly, but both of them weren’t fond of any outdoor activity. They mostly ordered food via Uber Eat and spent the whole two days without stepping out of the mansion room. If this was the definition of prisoner by Ohno’s standard, then Nino had nothing to complain about.

Ohno loved sweets and had a stock inside his fridge. In order to keep his body in shape he had a treadmill which he kept in a studio room beside the main bedroom. While he was exercising, Nino was playing a game. Ohno’s appearance after that, with a sweat-wetted T-shirt, was something pleasant to see. How could someone be that sexy and cute at the same time?

They had a lot of sex which convinced Nino that he wouldn’t be able to walk properly on Monday morning. It only made him more addicted to Ohno and Nino was afraid to develop new feelings towards this man. He told himself over and over that they weren’t dating, that their relationship was just something he couldn’t name. It meant that he couldn’t own Ohno; this man was free to decide when he wanted to end this bizarre relationship – Nino had no right to ask for more. But it wasn’t important at the moment. Nino enjoyed what they were having/sharing.

After spending two nights at Ohno’s mansion, which felt almost like a safe haven, Nino was so reluctant to face Monday, even though Ohno was the client that he needed to work together with until the Gifu Project was finished. But Ohno at the office was different to Ohno at home.

“One more week until this project finishes,” Jun announced to his staff with a broad smile on his lips. They were done with the details and for the last week, they only needed to do some re-checks. Nino was responsible to make sure that Ohno’s illustration was printed in the right color and the right proportion. Aside from that, he also needed to match the to-do list with the Gifu Tourism Board's.

Monday passed by without a problem and Nino went home earlier than he had anticipated. He had been in contact with Ohno’s office today, via Aiba, since Ohno wasn’t there. Aiba had informed Nino that Ohno was handling another project in cooperation with the Japanese Government for the 2020 Olympics and that their first meeting had been that day.

The Olympics project was way bigger than the Gifu Tourism one; Ohno would definitely concentrate more on that. Perhaps, he would have less time to cuddle with Nino from now on. The thought somehow bothered Nino.

The rest of the week went smoothly; Jun and Nino went to Gifu for the opening and returned to Tokyo on the same day. They had no chance to talk with Sakurai, but Jun seemed happy enough to watch him delivering the opening speech. Ohno wasn’t there, neither was Aiba.

Nino randomly opened the website where he and Ohno first had come to know each other by their avatars’ name, but _Reiji_ wasn’t in the room. He tried to send Ohno a LINE message, but it remained unread. Disappointed and feeling abandoned, Nino decided to stop thinking about Ohno. It was such a waste of time; their relationship had been nameless since the beginning. Nothing would change that.

Another project came, this time it was in Nagasaki. Nino didn’t think twice when he accepted Jun’s offer to become the project leader. It would require him to stay in Nagasaki until the project was finished and that was exactly what he needed for now. Tokyo had seemed too crowded and unbearable for the past weeks, mostly because he was haunted by Ohno’s empty promises. Come to think of it; Nino blamed himself for putting his expectation too high. He had been denying his feelings for Ohno, but in the end he finally admitted that he was drawn to Ohno’s calm personality and dreamt of the man every now and then.

He looked at the bullet train ticket in his left hand as he headed to the station. He travelled with another two staff members. Their main task was to explore the best tourism spots in Nagasaki and plan the proper promotional video. Nino had never been to Nagasaki before; he tried to feel excited about it. If it wasn’t because of his job, Nino would never travel around the country. Travelling wasn’t at the top of his list and staying outside all day wasn’t his favorite thing either.

Nino and the other two employees would stay at the apartment near the main station to ease their travelling. His room was on the sixteenth floor where he could see the scenery of Nagasaki city. The night scene reminded him of his last stay at Ohno’s mansion. That particular weekend had left a deep impression inside Nino’s heart, no matter how hard he tried to erase it.

On the first day, Nino strolled around the city, mapping the feasible features to be included in the promotional video. He wrote down everything in his smartphone and sent it to Jun, asking for his opinion. The hottest days of summer had passed, replaced by an autumn breeze. On the third day, Nino went to the beach; the atmosphere of the early autumn was pleasant. He sat down on one of the benches while enjoying a cup of iced coffee.

It was nice to work far away from Tokyo – far away from Ohno, he corrected himself. Nino regretted that he had let himself get involved too deeply in Ohno’s game; he hadn't thought of the consequences when he had agreed to Ohno’s invitation to have sex. He had thought that he could resist the man; but being apart from Ohno for more than a month and still craving his touch finally made him realize that he had lost this meaningless game.

What made him hurt was Ohno’s sudden disappearance; had he done it on purpose? Or had he been involved in an accident? Or was he sick and hospitalized?

Nino tried to push the negative thoughts away; if any of that had happened to Ohno, Aiba would have already informed him or Jun. Maybe Ohno was too absorbed in his new project for the 2020 Olympics; well, Nino couldn’t win against the Olympics after all.

He drank all of his coffee and threw the empty paper cup into the trash bin before heading to his temporary apartment. He just couldn’t forget what he had had with Ohno. However, time would erase it little by little and until that happened, he would accept this _devastating_ feeling.

***

It was a week before his return to Tokyo when he found Ohno or someone who looked exactly like him in front of Nino’s apartment door. He was wearing a nice suit – perhaps he ran away from a wedding or an official ceremony to be here. Nino ignored him and unlocked the door, but he failed since he used the wrong key.

“How are you, Nino?” Ohno asked while picking up the key, which Nino had dropped.

“Don’t ‘how are you’ me, why are you here?” he replied with the coldest tone he could muster.

“To find you,” Ohno answered.

Nino laughed dryly, this man was perhaps the best at flirting, but Nino had enough of it. He had finally gotten over him and wished that this Ohno were just a hallucination.

“I have no business with you anymore, Ohno-san,” Nino said, stressing the last words. “Leave me alone.”

“Nino…”

“Are you lacking options or why are you finally showing up in front of me?” Nino didn’t try to lower his voice and he didn’t care if the neighbor heard him. “The charming Ohno Satoshi whose hobby is collecting some pretty boys as his toys when he’s bored. Listen, I’m not one of your toys and will never be. I regret that I got to know you. Just get away from me already, don’t ever show up in front of me again,” Nino panted; he had never raised his voice to somebody before. Silence blanketed them for a few minutes and Nino just realized that what he had done was too much. But it was too late to take back what he had said.

He finally found the right key to unlock his door; but he stayed outside, waiting for Ohno to say something.

“You’re right,” Ohno answered softly. “I’m a jerk, exactly like you said. I’m sorry.”

Ohno’s calmness was the last thing Nino wanted to hear, he wanted the man to scream back, to depend himself, to explain that he wasn’t who Nino thought he was.

“I only want to tell you in person that I’ve missed you,” Ohno continued with the same calm voice. “I’ve been thinking of you all the time; it made me scared, I tried to ignore it and focused on my work this past month. In the end, I knew it’s something else and before it’s too late, I…”

Nino didn’t want to listen anymore; he entered the dark apartment and slammed the door behind him. What kind of ridiculous thing had Ohno just said? He disappeared for more than a month just because he was scared of his own feelings? Fuck!

He should have thought about it before acting this way. He was the one who made everything complicated and now he was the one who ran away. What a coward.

Nino heard footsteps moving away from the door and knew that Ohno had left the apartment. He slowly stepped into the room and slumped down on the couch; burying his face in his palms. What he had said to Ohno was too much, he should have controlled himself. He had no right to judge how Ohno lived his life; it was all his fault for accepting Ohno’s will. He could have denied it and none of this drama would have happened.

“You’re such a moron, Nino,” he said to himself.

The meeting with Ohno left Nino sleepless that night; he had never said such blatant things to someone else. He couldn’t imagine how hurt Ohno might be because of his stupid words. Nino punched his pillow to unleash his emotions, but nothing would make him feel better, unless he talked with Ohno again – with a clear head this time.

***

Nino’s last work in Nagasaki was to meet the related authorities, which were involved in the promotional project, including the airlines. He would have a meeting with the Japan Airlines marketing manager that day; the meeting was to be held at Nagasaki airport. Nino tried to use a light foundation to hide his sleepless face, but it didn’t work. Instead, he wore one of his best ties (a present from Jun) in the hope that the client would pay attention to it and not to his sleepy appearance.

A young lady welcomed him in the lobby of the Japan Airlines office, which was located in a separated building from the main airport and guided him to the waiting room. She carried in a cup of coffee a few minutes later and gestured Nino to drink it before leaving him alone. Somehow, it reminded him of his first meeting with Ohno; a cup of coffee and a piece of cake which Ohno had offered with an innocent smile. It wasn’t the right time to think of such a memory, he should focus on his presentation. However, when the young lady returned with a man a few moments later, Nino knew that everything would be screwed up.

“Would you like a cup of coffee or tea, Sir?” the woman asked the same question like she had done with Nino.

“Coffee will be nice,” the man answered.

The woman disappeared, leaving an odd silence between Nino and the man who was no other than Ohno. What was Ohno doing here? As far as Nino knew, their office didn’t need an illustrator this time, besides, the Nagasaki project was still in the planning stage.

Nino didn’t dare to lift his head from his laptop screen; he wished he could just disappear from this place. He could feel Ohno’s stare at him, but the man said nothing. The awkward moment continued for ten more minutes before the same young lady guided them towards the meeting room. Nino was walking behind Ohno, still bothered by the fact that Ohno was way calmer than him. Perhaps, this man wouldn’t budge even if a giraffe suddenly appeared in front of his door.

“Ohno-sensei, welcome,” the manager approached Ohno and shook his hand with a tight grip. His gaze then moved to Nino, “Ninomiya-san, welcome to our humble office, please take a seat.”

The manager was tall and thin, his cheerful tone somehow reminded Nino of Aiba. He took the name-card box from his desk, fished out two cards and handed them to Ohno and Nino. ‘Inohara Yoshihiko’ was written on it.

“I’m so glad to have you both in my office,” Inohara continued, rubbing both of his hands together, looking so excited. “Ohno-sensei, I know you’re so busy because of the Olympics and we’re so honored that you agreed to design the special Nagasaki promotional artwork for Japan Airlines.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Ohno answered. “I’ve always wanted to travel to Nagasaki,” he continued.

Damn, why did Ohno’s voice seem to affect him more than he could have imagined? His soft voice, which sometimes was too hard to listen to yet so alluring now. His concentration was scattered around, there were too many things in Nino’s head at the moment.

Nino gripped his laptop tightly; his voice cracked when Inohara addressed him. He cleared his throat and explained briefly about their new tourism promotion for Nagasaki. As he finished, Inohara guided both of them to the hangar in the other part of the airport building. Nino walked beside Ohno in silence, wondering whether Ohno was thinking of the same thing.

“We’re almost finished installing your design,” Inohara said proudly.

Nino who had no idea what kind of design Inohara was talking about couldn’t hide his amazement when he saw the plane in front of them. Ohno had created an amazing artwork with a colorful design and a meaningful symbol on every inch of it.

“It’s beautiful,” he unconsciously said and even though he didn’t speak it out too loud, he knew that Ohno had heard him.

“Ohno-sensei is such a maestro, don’t you think, Ninomiya-san?” Inohara said with a full-faced-smile.

“You’re right,” Nino answered, trying not to glance at Ohno. Nino couldn’t blame Inohara for looking at Ohno with such an admiration in his gaze; he would have done the same.

The meeting ended two hours later. There was only one thing in Nino’s head right now; he needed to talk with Ohno. However, Inohara asked him about the details in the proposal when Nino was about to leave. He hopelessly saw Ohno leave through the main door of the lobby.

Nino explained once again impatiently and told Inohara to reach him on the phone if he had further questions. He ran outside, but Ohno couldn’t be seen anymore. There was only one access to this building, Ohno still had to be around. With that thought, Nino walked faster towards the exit. He saw Ohno’s figure, but he was too far to hear Nino’s voice. He followed Ohno who walked towards the departure hall and the sudden realization hit him. Ohno would be leaving for Tokyo today.

Nino ran as fast as he could. He had a hunch that if he missed this chance, he would never be able to reach Ohno again.

“Ohno-san!” he called.

Ohno stopped and turned towards him; the sound of the departure announcement and the crowd couldn’t be heard anymore as their eyes met.

“Did I leave something at Inohara-san’s office?” Ohno asked casually.

Nino shook his head. “I’m sorry for what I said last night, I didn’t mean it,” he continued without thinking further. He knew that a few people glanced at them when they walked past them, but he didn’t care.

Ohno’s expression was unreadable; perhaps he had already guessed it or he was thinking of how to send Nino away.

“You were right about me, don’t apologize,” Ohno said, approaching Nino with a soft smile on his lips – something that Nino was dying to see.

“Can we make a new start?” Nino asked. “In a normal way,” he added.

He knew that what he said was so cheesy and probably childish; but he couldn’t imagine himself without Ohno. The weekend they had shared together had been the best time of his life and he had been dreaming to do it again.

Ohno didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he approached Nino and slowly pulled him into a hug. His natural scent hit Nino’s nose and it calmed him down in the best way possible. Nino closed his eyes. It wasn’t a dream. Ohno was embracing him as if Nino was the only one that mattered to him. They forgot that they were in the middle of the departure hall, but who cared. Ohno pulled further and kissed Nino.

“Thank you for giving me another chance,” Ohno whispered as he pulled away.

Nino smiled and wished he could kiss Ohno all day, but the man had a flight to catch and some business to finish.

“We’ll have a proper date once you’re back in Tokyo,” Ohno said.

“You’re too busy for that, sensei,” Nino replied, feeling so reluctant to let go of Ohno’s hand as they walked together to the check-in counter.

“Perhaps, but I’ll run away from my work this time.”

Nino felt so much happier when he continued his work that day; he didn’t know whether it was okay to trust Ohno, but that was the only thing he could do for now. Perhaps Ohno needed some time to focus only on him and stop his habit of looking for a one-night stand partner. Nino didn’t want to think about it right now; Ohno had tried to find his apartment in this city and lowered himself to apologize. Well, Nino couldn’t say that he knew Ohno that much, but if Ohno had truly forgotten him, he wouldn’t have come to him just to say that he missed Nino.

Sunny weather accompanied Nino when he returned to Tokyo. He took the bullet train instead of the airplane and he spent the rest of the trip looking at the scenery outside. The autumn atmosphere had spread around; the air had turned colder and the maple leaves had started to change color. Perhaps this autumn would be more enjoyable than summer, Nino thought.

When the bullet train made its final stop at Tokyo Station, the clock showed 11 in the evening. Nino yawned tiredly and dragged his suitcase with slow steps towards the exit. He hadn't expected to find Ohno there with a welcoming smile as he approached.

“Welcome back,” he said.

“I’m home, Ohchan,” Nino replied.

Nino knew they would need some time to get to know each other and to fully understand each other, but they would leave it to the time flow. He let Ohno grip his hand all the way back to Ohno’s mansion. This was what he really wanted, perhaps since the first time he had seen the illustrator or maybe even long before that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
